Nifty Golden Nuggets
by niffizzle
Summary: A collection of Dramione drabbles, all 500 words or less. Ranging in theme, trope, and topic, but always ending with a hint of more. [Drabble Collection. Updates Sporadically.]
1. Tell-Tale Scents

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! This collection will contain the random short Dramione stories that I write from time to time. Most stories will be inspired by Dramione Fanfiction Writers's Prompt Thursday drabble challenge. All stories are intended to stand on their own. Hope you enjoy!**

**Prompt: White lies**

* * *

"Find anything?"

Hermione groaned loud enough for Malfoy to hear from across the room.

"It's going to take longer than five minutes," she spat at her fellow Auror.

They searched the makeshift Potions laboratory their department had been tipped-off might be harbouring vials of illegally obtained Acromantula venom. The owners must have left in a haste, for half-cut ingredients were spread across the tables and several Potions were actively brewing.

Hermione ambled towards one cauldron and wafted the scent towards her in order to detect any hint of Acromantula venom. Instead, all she got was a nose-full of Malfoy's cologne.

"Merlin," she snapped. "Did you drown yourself in that overly expensive cologne of yours this morning? I can smell you from here!"

But as soon as the words escaped her lips, Hermione realised her rash mistake. Her pulse quickened, hoping for one of those rare instances in which she was wrong, but as usual, she wasn't. She glanced down at the cauldron, focusing on the colour of its contents, and her stomach dropped.

_Mother of pearl sheen._

Hermione found a lid and quickly placed it on top before Malfoy caught on.

But she wasn't fast enough.

"What's in that cauldron?" he asked.

"Noxious Potion," she lied. "Better to keep it contained."

Her racing heart began to placate as Malfoy turned away, seeming to accept her explanation.

"Fine," he said. "But for the record, next time you wash your hair, try not to use such an odorous shampoo. Yours is repugnant."


	2. Under the Cairo Sun

**Prompt: Heat Wave**

* * *

A bead of sweat dripped down Draco's temple before he swept it away with his hand. The sweltering heat of the Cairo sun hadn't broken once in the four days since he and Granger had arrived for their Runes research mission. There was only so much of this he could take.

Not of the unrelenting heat. Of _her._

Of the way the fabric of her camisole clung to her curves. Of the sight of her glistening skin under the perspiration. Of the shallow breaths that caused her chest to repeatedly rise and fall.

The worst had been when he had discovered that the wall between their adjacent hotel rooms was paper-thin. So thin, he was able to clearly hear the pounding water of her lengthy shower at the end of each day.

He strained not to imagine how she looked while that happened. Damp wild curls. Soap covered skin. Completely bare body…

"Malfoy."

Draco forced the picture aside. "What?"

"Pass me that brush."

He handed it to her, and Granger began dusting the dirt off an ancient tablet.

They worked in silence, the sun still beating overhead. When another drop of sweat formed over his brow, Draco lifted the hem of his thin t-shirt and dabbed it away. As he dropped the shirt back in place, he caught Granger staring at where his exposed chest had been moments prior, her cheeks no longer red solely from the sun.

A grin curled across his lips. Perhaps the heat had some benefits.


	3. Drowning Sorrows

**Prompt: Red wine (in the rain)**

* * *

Tar-black clouds tainted the morning sky, a fitting match for the heaviness that weighed inside Hermione's chest. Fresh air had always calmed her, but not today. Yet she remained on her flat's balcony, long after raindrops had begun to cascade from above. Several droplets fell into her half-consumed glass of wine, disappearing into the crimson red. It was already her third of the day.

"I got your owl."

She didn't bother turning around to face him. She couldn't. Not without succumbing to more tears.

For the past year, Malfoy had been trying to help her find a way to recover her parents' memories. Access to the world's foremost experts in Memory Charms, financial support to fund additional research, even dedicating his own time to investigate other options. It was impressive what burdening guilt could make a wizard do.

But it hadn't been enough.

"We can still—"

Hermione shook her head. "It's time to let them go," she resigned. "They're… they're happy now," she said with a choke. "And I'm sure they'll be just as good of parents to their new child as they were to me."

She lowered her head as a few tears betrayed her resolve, blending with the streaks of rain already painting her cheeks.

Malfoy came up beside her and without hesitating, wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest.

"It's going to be alright," he softly assured her.

But Hermione didn't know what that word meant anymore. After the war, things didn't magically resolve overnight. Everyone was still recovering. And she wasn't sure anything would feel 'alright' ever again.

She sniffed back another sob as she peered up at Draco. Strangely enough, he had been the most constant thing in her life the past year. With Ron fully devoted to his family and Harry still serving as a rallying symbol for the grieving wizarding world, Hermione had felt lost. _Alone._ But right now, with Malfoy…

She popped up on her toes and placed the briefest of kisses against his lips, so faint, she could hardly feel it. She wasn't even sure what the kiss was supposed to mean. But in that moment, it was the first time since receiving the news about her mother's pregnancy that she felt any sort of peace.

When her feet returned to the ground, she opened her eyes to discover Draco's still closed, pebbles of rain adorning his shut eyelids. After several fleeting moments, he returned his gaze to hers, a small smile now edging up his lips.

At last, a calmness began to spread itself inside Hermione. Nothing would ever be able to replace her parents, but the possibility of having someone else in her life was the first flicker of hope she had felt in a long time.

Perhaps some things would be alright.


	4. Thunk

**Prompt: Windowpane**

* * *

_Thunk_.

Hermione's eyes darted open.

Since the Horcrux hunt, even the faint snapping of a twig a hundred yards away could prompt her upright. Almost a whole year later, she doubted that protective instinct would ever fade.

_Thunk_.

She drew back her four poster's curtains and illuminated the tip of her wand. Despite the disturbance, the rest of the eighth year Gryffindor girls were sound asleep. Muffled snores resonated from Parvati's bed, but the source of the offending noise was nowhere to be spotted.

_Thunk._

Hermione whipped her head towards a nearby windowpane. And then she spotted him.

She pushed open the glass.

"What are you doing here?" she harshly whispered.

Gleaming moonlight reflected off his white-blond hair as his broomstick steadily bobbed just beyond the barrier.

Draco grinned. "Meet me in the courtyard. Five minutes."

"It's the middle of the night!" she protested.

"So?" He raised a taunting eyebrow. "Has Gryffindor's precious princess lost her sense of adventure?"

Her cheeks flushed pink. "No."

"That's what I thought," he impishly returned. "I'll give you a choice. Either you come meet me in the courtyard…"

A devious glint shone in his eyes.

Hermione knew that look. She didn't trust that look.

"Or?"

Draco smirked. "Or I kiss you in front of everyone in the Great Hall tomorrow morning so we can finally cease this incessant sneaking around."

Hermione weighed the options. "I'll grab my cloak then."

She made to retrieve it off a nearby hook but stopped when she noticed the sudden shift in Draco's expression. Gone was the lively glimmer in his gaze. The playfulness of his smirk. Now all that was visible was crestfallen disappointment.

Hermione offered him a subtle smile. "But if you sit next to me at breakfast, I won't complain."

His vivacity returned. "It will be my honour."


	5. Birthday Blues

**Prompt: Hermione's birthday**

* * *

Irrational.

That was not a word that Hermione would typically use to describe herself, but perhaps that's what she was being right now. After all, she and Draco had only been seeing each other for a few weeks. Three "official" dates. That hardly constituted as anything serious.

And it wasn't as if no one else had done anything for her birthday. Her Ministry coworkers had surprised her with a set of self-inking quills, her parents had mailed her a beautiful opal necklace from their new home in Australia, and Ron and Harry had taken her to a nice dinner on Diagon. Overall, it had been a perfectly pleasant day.

Then why was she presently stuck lying awake in bed, the sinking feeling of disappointment preventing her from falling asleep?

The seconds of the ticking clock echoed in the otherwise silent room. 11:46. Her birthday was almost over.

Hermione rolled over and stared out at the darkening night sky. He probably didn't even know what today was. How would he? She hadn't mentioned it. Her birthday had never been a huge deal to her. From a logical standpoint, it was just another day on the calendar. Yet, as the final minutes of September 19th ticked away, she came to accept that she had foolishly hoped Draco would somehow know and, at the very least, wish her a happy birthday.

With a slow, deep breath, Hermione forced herself to shut her eyes. Nothing was going to change now.

Slumber had finally begun to settle in her system when a firm knock on her flat's front door prompted her back to consciousness. She looked at the time.

11:59.

A second knock came, and Hermione pushed herself out from under the covers.

Her mind whirled with possibilities of who could be visiting at such a late hour. A locked-out neighbour asking for assistance? A friend with some sort of emergency? Whatever it was better be urgent!

But as the door swung open, she was met with something vastly different. For on the opposite side of the barrier stood Draco, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a cake rested atop the other.

He smirked. "Did you really think I wouldn't do anything for your birthday?"


	6. The Set Up

"I hear you have a date tonight."

Hermione's head snapped up from her work to discover Draco smugly propped against her office's doorframe. Heat instantly rushed to her cheeks. Even in his plum Wizengamot robes, he still managed to look impossibly handsome.

She returned her attention to her parchment before he noticed the prickling blush. "Your point?"

Draco welcomed himself into the space and settled in one of her chairs. "Thought I'd give you some advice."

_Great. _Just what she wanted — advice from the wizard she secretly fancied on what she should do on her date with someone else!

"I can manage fine on my own, thank you very much," she curtly tried to dismiss, but she knew the attempt would be in vain.

"Is that any way to react to such a generous offer?" Draco tauntingly returned. He rested his elbows on her desk and leaned in. "But even if you do reject it, aren't you at least going to tell me who you deemed worthy enough to date the almighty Hermione Granger?"

There was no use trying to hide her blush now; her whole face had turned pink.

"I don't know who it is," Hermione confessed, already dreading Draco's jeering response. "I let Ginny blindly set me up."

But to her surprise, Draco didn't mock her. He didn't even laugh.

"And I assume you want to impress this mystery man?"

Hermione half-heartedly shrugged. "I suppose."

"That's what I thought," Draco said with an all too pleased expression. He stood up from his chair and grinned. "In that case, I recommend you wear that emerald dress of yours. I happen to know that green's his favourite colour."

Hermione had hardly registered the implication of his comment before Draco made to leave. He had nearly reached the door when he turned back around.

"Oh, and I also happen to know that he's coming to pick you up at seven." He shot her a wink. "So don't stay here too late."


	7. Make a Wish

**Prompt: "Close your eyes and make a wish."**

* * *

Shimmering specks glittered in the night sky like moondust scattered across a sea of black. The warm June air danced over Draco's skin as he vacantly stared at the stars above, the sense of hollowness threatening to consume him.

"I thought I might find you here."

Draco didn't turn around. He knew she'd go looking for him, curious why he didn't show up for their usual study session, particularly so close to their N.E.W.T.s. But he couldn't. Not tonight.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He still refused to look at her. "Not particularly."

What was there to say? They both knew what had happened here. In this exact spot. On this very day. Precisely two years prior.

Her gentle footsteps gingerly approached. "He knew you didn't want to do it."

Draco huffed. As though that mattered.

"And I think he'd be quite proud of how you've grown since the war," her soft voice continued, now next to him. She placed a delicate hand on top of his. "I know I am."

It was only then that Draco faced her, her curly hair clipped back so there was no hiding the sincere concern washing over her gaze. A tightness clenched inside his chest.

"Doesn't change what I did."

A temporary silence fell over them.

"No, it doesn't," she eventually returned, her hand still rested over his. "But I wouldn't be with you if I believed one's past is the only thing that matters."

They mirrored the stillness of the night as she leaned her head against his shoulder, them both staring out into the empty vastness. Draco searched the stars for answers. While he knew he was no longer the same, cruel boy who had entered Hogwarts eight years prior, that provided little comfort. What would happen after graduation? She had learned to forgive him, but would everyone else? Did he even _ deserve _ their forgiveness?

A streak of pure white flashed across the Scotland sky.

"Look, Draco," she whispered. "A shooting star. Close your eyes and make a wish."

Draco squeezed his eyes closed, voicing the wish inside his heart. "I wish I could take it all back."

When his vision returned, he found her wide eyes on him. Words seemed to fail her. All she did was blink. Until, suddenly, she cupped his cheek and placed a brief, tender kiss across his lips.

"I know you do," she said when she pulled away. Nerves seemed to gloss over her as she continued, "And that's why I love you."

His heart clenched. "You what?"

"I love you, Draco Malfoy," she said more firmly this time.

"I—" It was now Draco's turn to be speechless. Of course things had changed between them in the past year, but he never dreamed it would come this far. Yet, as he searched her awaiting gaze, he became more certain of anything else he had felt since the end of the war. "I love you, too, Hermione Granger."

Their lips once more met, and all other struggles finally faded from Draco's mind. He may not be able to change what he did, but she believed in him, and that's what mattered most.


End file.
